Some Surprising Statistics About Engagement Proposals

Did anyone get engaged yesterday? While that may seem like a random question, yesterday, March 20, was National Proposal Day. It was also the first day of spring, the Equinox, which is why the holiday’s founder, John Michael O’Loughlin, chose the day to be one that features all things proposal. “Day and night are of equal length worldwide, symbolizing the equal efforts of the two required to comprise the successful marriage,” O'Loughlin explained.

In honor of the occasion, Whisper gathered proposal information from its 20 million users and shared the findings with Cosmopolitan. The city where the most proposal talk takes place is Greensboro, North Carolina. Proposals are more of a thing in Texas than in any other area because three cities—Plano, Garland, and Fort Worth—were among the top 11 places where the most proposal chatter occurs. The statistics also show that pear-shaped diamond engagement rings are out—55 percent of those polled prefer square-shaped diamonds. Although March is when National Proposal Day occurs, the month in which the most proposals happen is December.

The two stats that I found the most interesting had to do with public proposals and engagement ring selfies. Of those polled, 53 percent prefer a public proposal and only 18 percent say no to proposing in front of a crowd. The other 29 percent weren’t sure, but still I thought this information was surprising—considering most people I know preferred private engagements. Finally, 47 percent of people polled believe that an engagement ring selfie is tacky. If that’s the case, why does it seem like everyone posts one?